1. Field of The Invention
The present invention relates generally to a seat, particularly to a passenger or driver seat for an automotive or other type of vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
The basic construction of a seat for an automotive vehicle according to the current art will be explained hereinbelow with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.
A may be seen, such a conventional seat 1 comprises a seat cushion la and a seat back 1b mounted on a substantially inverted U-shaped seat frame 2. A pad 3 may be spring mounted on a front and upper side of the frame 2 and a seat cover 5 is disposed over the pad 3. The seat cover 5 is comprised of an upper skin layer 5a, which may be formed of synthetic resin, leather etc., under which a wadding layer 5b is disposed. Under the wadding layer 5b, a backing material layer 5c is provided.
The seat cover 5 must have each portion thereof joined at the edges, for the desired seat contours of a main surface portion (i.e. the portion that most contacts the body of the seat occupant) the edges must be retained with slit wire, and S-shaped springs (not shown) are clipped to the seat frame or other member. Thus a number of parts and complexity of assembly are increased.
FIG. 7 shows a top cross-sectional view of the conventional seat wherein it may be seen that the lower layer, that is the backing material layer 5c, is affixed to the seat pad 3 via the fastener 7.
According to this construction however, the contoured portions of the cover 5 are limited in position according to the S-shaped frame and the edge portions thereof must be retained by wires. Thus assembly becomes difficult and a large number of parts raise the coast and complexity of forming the vehicle seat 1. Further, no freedom of movement of the main surface portion is available. The restriction of the main surface portion of the cover 5, by wires and the like, can cause puckering, or floating of other portions of the cover 5, degrading the appearance of the finished upholstery when installed on the seat.
Further, according to such seat assembly, dismantling of vehicle seats for recycling or the like is complicated since pliers or other tools need to be utilized for cutting clips, wires, etc., and the various layers of the cover 5 are bonded together such that separation of the various materials is difficult.
Thus it has been required to provide a vehicle seat in which a desired appearance and utility may be economically achieved with a low number of parts and quick efficient assembly and disassembly.